NEWARK -- A 16-month-old German shepherd leaps through a cutout of a wooden prop in an obstacle course before biting fiercely into his handler's arm.

Arsene, a playful new addition to the Newark police force, came from the Netherlands, where nationally ranked handler Teus Tijsseling has been training him since July specifically for a job in Newark.

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Newark Sgt. Erik McKee, K-9 unit supervisor, said the department chose Arsene to replace Draven, who retired this summer after several years with the department.

Although McKee hadn't seen the dog -- only videos and pictures -- the department screened six applicants to find a handler with a personality to match the dog's.

Arsene has been training in Newark since his arrival on Monday, bonding with his new handler, Patrolman Art Minton. He will be training vigorously to become state-certified for his new career in the Newark K-9 Unit.

"I'm worn out," said Minton after a day in the training facility off Iron Avenue. "They get wore out, but they'll never admit it."

Minton, who has worked in the Newark police department for eight years, said he wanted to become a handler because he loves dogs and enjoys the challenge of working with them as a team.

"It's that and so much more," he said. "It's the relationship with the dog. You learn together. You're in danger together. You have fun together."

Arsene, Heath's Bella and other departments' animals were playing through the training course Thursday. McKee even brought Draven out to play.

Bella and Arsene are the first two German shepherds Tijsseling, who is hearing impaired, has helped prepare for police work.

The animals bark from their vehicles as the others run through, climb on and jump around the wooden obstacles in the field.

"Every situation is different," McKee said. "We do a lot of practical training to prepare for everything from car stops with people fleeing and drug busts."

After Draven's retirement, Newark was left with one dog. Arsene, who cost about $6,000, including training and transportation, was paid for with a donation from Meijer.

McKee said he hopes to have Arsene trained for working with patrol and narcotics units by the end of the year.

It takes about 400 hours of training to prepare a new dog for patrol and another 400 to prepare him for narcotics, McKee said.

"It should only take Arsene 250 hours for him to become state-certified for patrol," he said. "Until then, Arsene can ride in the car with Minton, but he can't leave the car."

Arsene, like several other agencies' canines, came from overseas. McKee said it's more difficult to find purebred animals of the same caliber in the United States.

While Arsene was noticeably smaller than the other dogs on the course Thursday, McKee said size will have no bearing on his performance.

"He's still growing," he said. "And we prefer smaller dogs because they are more agile and faster. They are better for us."

Minton said his relationship with his new partner is "amazing at best."

During one of the drills, he said they use Tijsseling, his old "daddy," as a decoy.

"You can see it at first, the hesitation to bite the new handler, not the old daddy," Minton said. "But he's adjusting well."

Training is a lot of work and stress on the officers and the dogs, McKee said.

"Just like not everyone can be a police officer, not every dog can be a police dog," he said.

Kimberly Dick can be reached at (740) 328-8543 or kdick@newark advocate.com.

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Originally published October 20, 2006

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